The One in the Shadows
by whistlane
Summary: My first fan fiction! Katarina West is Professor Layton's informant. She is a little too grumpy and smart for her own good. Usually she only takes cases that the professor dismisses, but now she is working on the same case, which she was forbidden to take
1. Chapter 1: An Old Friend?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Professor Layton or Level-5. I only own Katarina.**

Chapter 1: An Old Friend?

I fingered my key as I walked through the narrow, moss-covered alley to my flat and bookstore. It was well hidden, which meant only a few customers, but that was just the way I liked it.

As I started to put my key in, I realized the door was already unlocked. I let out a sigh of annoyance and opened the door.

"Tell me Clive. Why do I even bother locking my door anymore?" I said loudly.

I wasn't surprised to see a college-age boy wearing a navy blue cap and jacket with light brown hair sitting in one of my antique armchairs. He was handsome alright, but not the person I wanted to see right then.

"I don't know. Look on the bright side. You don't have to give me a key," Clive gave me a mischievous grin I knew all too well.

"I wasn't planning to," I retorted quietly. I set down the heavy stack of books I was carrying and set them on a table. "Now why are you here? Shouldn't you be enjoying your time out of prison? You only got out a week ago."

"That's why I'm here. To thank you for pretending to be my lawyer and shortening my sentence. I'm sure Bill Hawks wanted to put me in for life. Or worse,"

I didn't believe that at all. Clive may have been able to trick the professor and Luke. Not me.

"Mm-hm," I stacked some books in the shelves. "Now why are you really here?"

He looked down at the floor nervously. I knew I'd caught him. Or he was just really interested in the pattern on my carpet.

"The professor needed some information," Clive shrugged casually.

"The professor knows how to contact me."

"Ok, its information for me,"

"So you're working on his case,"

"Well…"

I raised my eyebrow at this. No one went against the professor's orders, except for me when he told me to stop studying and get some sleep so I wouldn't be cranky in court the next morning, which I was, but that wasn't the point. The point was that the professor is usually right, so you were probably better off listening to him.

"He took me off the case. Said I needed to "cool down" from prison," Clive spoke bitterly.

"And why couldn't you just back off?" I sighed. Typical Clive…

"Well, let's see it,' I huffed.

Clive smiled and handed me a big folder, "I knew you'd listen to a voice of reason."

"I'm not sure if it's a voice of reason exactly," I mumbled, half to myself.


	2. Chapter 2: A New Adventure

Chapter 2

"What's taking you so long?" Clive paced the floor, looking over my various book titles.

"I'm thinking," I said through my teeth. We'd been at this for four hours straight and he'd done nothing but complain the whole time.

"Then think faster. The professor could walk in at any moment," I gave him one of my shut-up-so-I-can-focus glares and for the most part he quieted down.

I could understand why the professor wanted to take the case. It was a robbery, which wasn't that strange actually. It was what and how.

A small gallery in a rinky-dink town in the middle of nowhere was robbed of only one item: a small glass orb that was labeled as tourist junk. And that wasn't even the beginning of the weirdness.

The culprit left prints everywhere, yet they weren't in any system. Then two hours later, an expensive Monet was robbed from a mansion in London. The same prints were found, along with a plain white card with only one symbol. An X.

I closed the file and took a few moments to think. This one was tough. It was a shame that I wouldn't be working with the professor on this one. I could've used his input…

Someone went into the shop downstairs. I turned over the file over and straightened my black blazer and tie over my long white dress shirt. I could hear Clive talking to someone.

"Why hello professor! What are you doing here? Looking for a book?"

I groaned. When did Clive turn into such dreadful liar? I guess prison did change people…

"Actually we are. We were wondering if Katarina would mind letting us borrow a book. Do you know where she could be?" I heard the professor say.

I hurried down the stairs before Clive could answer.

"Professor! It's wonderful to see you. May I inquire what you and Luke are doing at this hour?" I looked around for signs of the professor's young apprentice. "Er… where is Luke anyway?"

"Emmy and Flora are here, too. They were here just a moment ago… Where could they be?" Layton seemed puzzled, a look that was both common and unusual for the professor.

I quickly scanned the bookshelves to see if Luke, Emmy and Flora were browsing. I had to find them before the professor could look upstairs and find the file instead of his three companions.

I heard the sound of Luke laughing and a dog barking outside. I opened the door to find Luke being licked by a small brown puppy.

"You didn't tell me you had a dog!" Luke managed between licks.

"I don't. That's Roscoe. He's a stray that wanders around here."

"He's so sweet!" Flora squealed.

I flashed Clive a look of relief. He was also glad that Layton hadn't found the file.

We all went back inside. Luke and Roscoe sat in the armchairs while Flora and Emmy browsed the murder/mystery section. The professor, Clive and I went to the backroom of the shop.

"I don't mean to bother you so late, but I'm afraid it's urgent. You see, I need a book and we are leaving tomorrow and it may help our case," Layton explained as I poured him a cup of tea. I didn't drink tea myself, but the professor visited so often that I found myself having an abundance of it.

"Which book?" I asked even though I knew exactly which one he wanted.

"Legends and Lore of Belus Springs. I distinctly remember you looking through it a few days ago."

I paused as if I were thinking about where I put it.

"Yes, I think I still have it," I replied. I got up and looked in the bookshelf behind us. I swiftly pulled it out. I only hoped that the professor wouldn't realize that while the other books were covered in dust, this one didn't have any.

Layton flipped through the pages to make sure it was the right one, overlooking the fact that it fell open on a certain page. He nodded and closed the book.

"Yes, this is the one. Thank you for helping us. We'd better be off then," Layton tipped his hat to us. "We're leaving early in the morning and we will need all the sleep we can get."

And with that, they were gone.

"So… did you finish reading the file?" Clive asked.

"Yes. We need to get to Belus Springs before the professor."

That seemed to be the answer he wanted, except he started to frown.

"Wait. How are we going to do that? We don't even have a car."

"Yes we do."

Clive raised his eyebrow, "Where?"

I walked him out to the dim street where my car was parked.

"This is it?"

"Yes," I loved my car just as much as the professor loved his Laytonmobile. I guess you could call mine the Katmobile.

Clive looked it over unsurely. My car definitely wasn't in its prime, but it ran fairly well.

"So how are we going to get to Belus Springs before the professor in this dinosaur?"

"It's not a dinosaur, it's a classic!" I protested.

"Whatever you say,"

I rolled my eyes. "Besides, if we leave early enough we should get there first,"

Clive seemed uneasy, but I couldn't blame him. No one had gone behind the professor's back like this before.

But maybe that was what excited me about the case


	3. Chapter 3: Arriving in Belus Springs

Chapter 3: Arriving in Belus Springs

Clive was driving. I was too tired from staying up late studying. Much to my horror, I realized that my head was resting on his shoulder. I frantically started to get up, but Clive stopped me.

"You can stay," He offered, but I got up anyway.

"Do you want to hear a riddle?" Clive asked.

"Shoot."

"Okay. What kind of coat can you only put on when it's wet?"

I thought for a moment. "A paint coat."

"Very good. How about this one? What is smaller than a dog but can put a bear on the run?"

"A skunk,"

Clive frowned at me. "Nothing stumps you, do they?"

"Not really. This case stumps me if that's any consolation," I offered.

"Hmm…"

"My turn. What gets more wet the more it dries?"

Clive paused to think.

"I don't know."

"A towel," I smiled.

We were both silent. I decided to look out the window at the scenery. There wasn't much to see. Just trees and rocks and grass. It wasn't until much later that we finally arrived in Belus Springs.

Belus Springs wasn't big. In fact, it was anything _but_ big. Being there made me feel like I wasn't in London anymore. (And I wasn't) Everything was old-fashioned. There were water pumps and clotheslines. A small sign said, "Belus Springs: A town based on tradition"

I half-expected the villagers to burst into song like in "The Fiddler on the Roof"

"This is it," I breathed. It was all so quiet.

Clive nodded. We got out of the car and began to look around.

"Where do you suppose everyone is?" He asked.

"In bed, probably. It's still early," I checked my watch and showed it to Clive.

I looked around for an inn or something like that. My gut told me we were going to be in Belus Springs a while. I pulled my suitcase out of the car.

"Do you see a hotel anywhere?" I asked Clive. He shrugged and pointed to a small and dirty building that said "Inn" in miniscule letters. I was surprised that Clive even noticed it, it was so well hidden.

"I guess we should go in"

The inn was empty when we walked in. Clive rang the bell and a portly gentleman in his pajamas and slippers walked in.

"What is it? Customers? At this hour?" He practically yelled at us. To himself, he mumbled, "Although… you young'ns have more energy then I do…"

"M' name is Ellis. Would you like a room?"

Taken aback by Ellis's rudeness, I just nodded.

"Yer names?"

I hadn't thought about that. Layton might come to the inn and discover that we were on the case, which we, specifically Clive, were told not to take. On the other hand, fake names were hard to remember.

"I'm Katarina West and this is Clive Dove," I expected Ellis to flinch at Clive's name but he just wrote the name in his guestbook.

"How many rooms?"

"One," Clive replied at the same time as I answered, "Two."

"Two it is!" Ellis pulled out two keys, labeled 7and 8.

I gave number 7 to Clive and put number 8 in my jacket pocket.

"This way," Ellis led us up a flight of stairs. He stopped in front of the two rooms.

"Tell me if you need anything. I'll be downstairs," Something about the way Ellis left made the impression that he didn't want us to bother him.

Clive turned to me and sighed. "Would it really be so bad to be stuck in the same room with me?"

Hoping I hadn't actually hurt his feelings, I replied truthfully, "Well, no. I guess I'm just a bit suspicious of your intentions," I broke into a smile. "And you snore."

I decided to leave him there before it turned into a fully- fledged argument about who snored louder.

My room was quite cozy, with one big bed and a large desk. _Perfect, _I thought. I set down my suitcase and began putting my clothes into the armoire. In another bag, I pulled out a stack of books and the file.

I desperately wanted to just go to bed and start investigating later, but we needed a headstart.

I picked up the phone and dialed a number in.

"Matthew? Have I got the case for you!"

_Two hours later, outside the Belus Springs inn_

"So this is Belus Springs! It's so tiny!" Emmy exclaimed as they parked in front of the inn.

"Now Emmy-"The professor was interrupted by Luke.

"Professor? Does that car look familiar to you?"

Layton was about to tell Luke that a true gentleman never interrupted others while they are speaking. But looking at the car, it did look familiar…

"Yes Luke. I have a feeling we've seen it somewhere,"

They ignored it and went inside. A stout, mustachioed man sat at the counter, half-asleep.

"Excuse me sir? We would like some rooms," Layton rang the bell for good measure.

"More customers?" The man shook himself awake before adding, "M' name is Ellis. Yer names?"

"I am Professor Hershel Layton and my companions are Luke Triton, Flora Reinhold and Emmy Altava. Now sir, you mentioned more customers. May I ask who?"

Ellis was too busy scribbling down the names down. "How many rooms?"

"Two will be fine. Now about your other customers…?"

Ellis pulled two keys out, labeled 9 and 10. "M' other customers? Some strange couple."

The professor was getting impatient, "What did they _look_ like?"

Ellis looked confused, "Well… one had glasses and one had a hat. They were both tall, but the boy was taller than the girl. I can't quite remember their names…"

"Thank you sir. You have been most helpful," Layton tipped his hat even though Ellis hadn't been helpful at all. "We'll just be heading to our rooms now…"


	4. Chapter 4: The Investigation Begins

Chapter 4: The Investigation begins

Clive and I sat on a bench on the side of the inn. This was _supposed _to be a debriefing, but it was turning out to be just us planning. Though I didn't want to admit, we had absolutely no leads. I hoped Matthew would be here soon with some information.

"Any ideas?"

"No." I said glumly.

We returned to our silence as quickly as we had escaped from it. The professor made investigating look so easy. _Well duh, _I thought _He's the professor. And he has Luke to write everything down, Emmy to be the muscle and Flora for… whatever Flora does._

In my self- pity, I hadn't seen a rather distinct automobile rolling down the hill. _Oh no! The professor is coming!_

"Clive, I don't mean to alarm you, but look who's coming," I warned him.

We both raced to the back of the building where they couldn't see us. Out of breath, we looked at each other in alarm.

"Great! Now how are we going to get away?"

I thought for a moment. The professor's words rang in my head. _Every puzzle has an answer… _But right now the only option seemed to be getting caught and receiving a very angry lecture from the professor, who would take us off the case before we had even got started. Unless…

"Clive, I have an idea, but I'll need your help,"

"You sound just like the professor."

"I hope that's a good thing. Now take off your hat and jacket."

Clive looked at me suspiciously, "Why?"

"Just do it."

"Fine…" He handed them both to me.

"Hopefully the professor won't notice you from behind."

"Now what about you? The professor might recognize you,"

Hmm. I hadn't thought about that. I took my own black jacket off and put Clive's on. It was too big, but it would have to do. I put his hat on and handed my jacket to Clive.

"No. You cannot expect me to put your jacket on," Clive backed away.

"Do you want to get caught?"

"No."

"Put it on."

Clive sighed and tried to put his arms through my jacket. As we both anticipated, it was too small so he just draped it over his shoulders.

"Satisfied?"

"Not really, but I'm afraid that is the best I can do. Don Paolo would've done better," I sighed.

"Don Paolo tried to run over the professor and Luke over with a Ferris wheel," Clive reasoned.

"Still!" I insisted.

"Let's just get out of here before the professor hears us," Clive took my hand and pulled me out of the protection of the building. He started to run but I held him back.

"Too conspicuous. Walk," I whispered.

We walked arm in arm awkwardly. The professor didn't seem to notice us because he was too focused on… my car! Oh no! How could I have been so stupid to leave it out where he could see it? I hoped I hadn't left a picture or something in it. I don't think the professor had ever seen me drive it… maybe he wouldn't remember it.

Soon enough the professor had gone into the inn. It had been only a few moments, but it felt like a decade. I wasn't sure what was worse, the embarrassment that I'd left my car out in plain sight, wearing Clive's jacket or the fact that Clive and I were still holding hands even though the professor was gone. Once he realized that, we both pulled away, blushing.

"Er… good job,"

"You too."

"Can I have my hat and jacket back?"

"Yes."

When we were both wearing our own clothes, I smiled and said, "That was scary. I should have brought my car around back so the professor couldn't see it,"

"He didn't recognize us. That's all I care about,"

"I think we're going to need a disguise."

"That can wait. I think I just found the town hall," Clive pointed to a tall building. True enough, the words "Town Hall" were stenciled on.

"That's a lead," I commented bluntly.

We walked inside to find an old woman arguing with what looked like one of the people who worked there.

"Ma'am! I'm sorry about your loss, I truly am, but the robber is probably in some far off country were we'll never be able to find him. Why don't you go find a good private investigator instead of bothering the poor mayor?" The man seemed to be getting flustered.

"I tried! I truly did. He should be coming, but I think he might have dismissed it as a common robbery-"

"That's what it is, isn't it?"

"Not at all! That was an antique, worth at least a million dollars,"

"I thought you said you were never going to sell it."

"It is still an heirloom, and since you have been no help, I'm going to find someone who will!"

The woman stomped away, running right into Clive and I, who were eavesdropping from around the corner.

"Excuse me!" She muttered angrily.

"Ma'am? We couldn't help but overhear, but we think we can help with your… uh… situation," Clive said in his most patient voice.

"Oh can you?" The woman retorted, "And who are you, exactly?"

"I'm Katarina West and this is Clive Dove," I answered

"Clive Dove? You are friends of Professor Layton?

"Yes."

"Good. I've been waiting for you. I'll explain everything over a cup of tea," The old woman handed Clive a slip of paper. "These are directions to my house. If you are truly one of the professor's friends, you should have no problem finding it,"


	5. Chapter 5: The Time Orb

Chapter Five: The Time Orb

"These directions are a dud!" Clive exclaimed as we were trying to get to the old woman's house. "There's a big hole in the middle of it!"

I remembered a puzzle the professor told me after he went on the Molentary Express and found the Elysian Box. When he was finding Dr. Schrader's apartment, he had to solve a puzzle where he filled in a map. This couldn't be too much different.

"Let me see. I think I know what to do," Clive reluctantly handed the map to me.

I quickly assembled the map and gave it back to him.

"Oh," Clive blushed.

"Every puzzle has an answer," I winked at him, "The professor is right sometimes, you know."

"He usually is. I'm just not always paying attention to him."

"Now about a disguise. For you, I have a trench coat and a fedora,"

"Ick."

"Don't complain. At least the professor won't recognize you," I pulled a long scarf and a small hat. "For me. Oh and I have-"I pulled out a blond wig and colored contacts.

"Why don't I get a wig?"

"Do you _want _a wig?"

"No."

"Exactly." I put the stuff back in my bag. "I'm probably only going to use a few things,"

"Dare I ask where you found all those?"

"There was a costume shop across the street from the town hall. While you were fretting over the directions, I grabbed a few things," I explained. "Shall we go?"

Clive nodded and offered me his hand. I took it cautiously as he helped me get up.

The dirt roads of Belus Springs weren't as complicated as I thought. We found the old woman's house easily and were knocking on the door. Of course, no doorbell. A younger woman answered the door.

"Oh. You must be Clive and Katarina. Grandmother is waiting for you," She frowned. "You'd better come this way."

We'd didn't pay much attention as the woman whisked us into a small room where the old woman was waiting. She seemed impatient, just as she did at the town hall.

"Grandmother thinks she's younger than she really is. Good luck," The younger woman disappeared. I didn't like the way she left us, but I guess that was our own fault for being so late.

"About time you two got here," The old woman whispered as she sipped her tea.

"About that… I'm afraid that Clive here has an awful sense of direction," I lied. Clive would be the last person I'd expect to get lost, but it seemed to satisfy the woman.

"That is no excuse, but I guess I'm lucky that anyone came. I am Cerys."

"A very important object was stolen from me a few days ago. It was a glass ball that most people thought was just a piece of junk."

"Was it?" Clive interrupted. I elbowed him.

"No. You may not believe this, but that orb… had the power to manipulate time,"

Clive and I were silent. We had both heard plenty of strange stories in our time, but never an orb that could stop time.

"For some reason, my family could never use it. I think that there is something else that is needed to activate it. I'm pretty sure that the thief has whatever that is,"

I seriously doubted that. Was Cerys lying? If so, wouldn't I know?

"Well, Cerys, we will… um… getting started as soon as possible. We'll contact you if we find anything," I shook hands with Cerys as the younger woman ushered us out.

"Now what?" I found myself asking. For once, Clive didn't answer me. We both stared at the ground for a while. I heard a noise that sounded like someone yelling. One of the voices was rough and the other timid.

"Look who's on the case as well," I mumbled as I pointed to the Scotland Yard's head detective.

Sure enough, Inspector Chelmey and Constable Barton in front of a small, but grand building across the street.

"Oh, dear. Are we going to hide from him too?" Clive asked.

Inspector Chelmey would probably end up telling the professor that we were on the case. Although… we could probably get a few details if we eavesdropped on him…

"Yes. But we are going to get some information first," I replied as I took the hat from my bag and put it on.


	6. Chapter 6: An Interesting Discovery

Chapter 6: Another Interesting Discovery

I silenced Clive as he complained about his disguise. If we were to listen in on the inspector, he'd have to be quiet.

"But it smells! And this hat is filthy! Where did you get these from?"

I blushed, "Alright. I got it from a secondhand store,"

"Why?"

"Because some of us run small businesses and take cases for free,"

He stopped bothering me but he was mumbling about being able to lend me money, which he probably could have done, but I didn't necessarily want to owe him any favors.

"See, Barton! It's plain and simple. The thief never had his prints in the system because they were never in there in the first place!"

"That's very good s-sir, but how did he steal that Monet in London so quickly? London is at least three hours away!"

"He took a plane, of course!"

"But there aren't any airports around here…"

"To the airport!" Inspector Chelmey declared, obviously not hearing Barton speak.

With that, the pair disappeared.

"Now how are we going to investigate?" Clive asked.

"The professor is used to working alongside the inspector,"

"Yes, but now we are working with the inspector and the professor while trying not to get caught by either of them."

"I'll think of something. Besides, the inspector will be gone for a good 7 hours. We passed an airport two hours before we got here and if the inspector is still using his standard interrogating procedure, they should be there a while," I smiled and took Clive's hand, but he frowned.

"How did you know we passed an airport? I thought you were asleep,"

"I need to be vigilant at all times. Even in my sleep," I said like it was the most obvious answer in the world. "I heard a plane take off."

Clive rolled his eyes, which I usually only did to him. It felt strange for him to do it to me. I guess the feeling of annoyance was mutual.

"Perhaps we should visit the scene of the crime?"

He nodded. I assumed the gallery would be open, but I found the door locked. Thankfully, in my days of visiting Clive in jail, I learned a few vital lock-picking skills. (Don't ask me how. The prisoners try to escape a lot, and I just happen to be paying attention.)

"Have I ever told you that you would make a wonderful thief?" I hoped that Clive wasn't saying that out of admiration.

"Once or twice," I added, "That is _not _a good thing."

"Whatever you say,"

Surprisingly, no alarms went off when we walked in. There were at least some perks when you are breaking into a small town gallery. Aside from the fact that it was _already_ a crime scene.

Nothing in the gallery was actually worth anything. Most of it was things like vases that were pretty, but only cost one or two pounds at the most. It wasn't even worth robbing.

But apparently it was. Someone either really smart, or really stupid, figured out about the "time orb." I hesitated to call it that, because I honestly didn't believe Cerys's story.

Did the thief know how to use the orb? I only knew one thief, a few criminals and a _very _rude neighbor. This couldn't be Don Paolo's handiwork and I was pretty sure that Descole was in another country right now, doing who knows what. The only other criminal I knew was Clive, who could be the thief, but he knew I was mad with him as is. Hopefully he knew better than to mess with me after the whole "Future London" deal.

"Who do you think it was?" The sound of Clive's voice scared me half to death. I was probably too enveloped in the case. I found myself doing that a lot lately.

"Well, it wasn't Don Paolo or Descole and it better not be you,"

Clive chuckled. "I promise."

I was pretty sure he was joking, but just in case I elbowed him hard.

o-O-o

A shadowy figure watched silently as the young couple left laughing from the gallery. He couldn't help giving a small pity laugh.

"You laugh now, but just wait for the fates I have set out for you…"


	7. Chapter 7: My Contact Finally Gets Here

Chapter 7: My Contact Finally Gets Here

"Excuse me, Sir? Do you know anything about an object called the Time Orb?" I asked a man who smelled like… cheap cologne. No wonder he owned a perfume shop. I think the smell was too strong for Clive so he had stepped out.

"Oh, no. What perfume are you wearing?" The man asked randomly.

"Um… I'm not wearing any perfume…" I blushed, hoping that was a compliment.

"Then I have the perfect scent for you. It's called 'Lavender Moonlight' and its-"At that point, I stopped listening and started wondering why I came into the shop in the first place and how moonlight can be lavender.

The shop owner started spraying me with all sorts of perfumes. I pulled away, longing for some fresh air.

Clive was sitting on a bench, half-asleep.

"Why do you-"

"Don't ask."

"Ok… did you find anything out?"

"No. I should've known better."

"Didn't you say you called your contact?"

"Yes! And he said he would be here soon!" I grumbled. I blamed it on lack of sleep.

My sudden grumpiness must have taken Clive off guard, because he just sat there with a surprised look on his face. I don't think I'd ever _really _snapped at him, which I found hard to believe. He seemed to make me angry so often I was fairly sure I had done it before. Honestly, I didn't really remember what had happened in the last six months that made me mad at him.

"Sorry. I haven't been sleeping right the last few days. This case bugs me," I explained quickly.

"Don't worry. This case bugs me too."

I decided that we should walk around to look for more clues. After roaming the dusty streets for a few minutes, I had the insane feeling we were being followed. To make sure, I gave a quick turn. Sure enough, someone was following us.

"Don't look now, but we are being followed," I whispered to Clive.

He nodded and we turned into a dead end. Our follower turned too, almost crashing into us.

"Who are you?" Clive demanded.

Our chaser revealed himself. He was tall and slender, with messy dark brown hair and a solemn smile that I found to be familiar.

"Matthew?" I exclaimed.

Matthew gave a chuckle and dusted his back off.

"Do you know him?" Clive asked. I hoped I hadn't heard a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"Yes. This is Matthew, my contact who is very late and is in a whole mess of trouble," I glared at Matthew.

"Sorry. I couldn't help giving you a good scare," He said it like it was a suitable apology, which it wasn't.

"You better have some information or I am going to be really mad," I decided to ask him the question I'd been wondering about the most. "When did you get here, anyway?"

"I've been here a few days, gathering information, _like you asked_." I couldn't tell if Matthew was lying or not.

"Well, let's see it!" Clive burst in. He'd been quiet for so long, I almost forgot he was there.

"It's at my hotel room, _jailbird_."

"Oh no," I groaned, but neither of them seemed to hear me.

"_What did you say?"_

Before they could do anything, I grabbed them both by the ear.

"No fighting. We are all gentlemen and ladies, aren't we?"

"Fine…" They both mumbled.

o-O-o

After the little incident between Clive and Matthew, I had Matthew take us to his hotel room. He had the same organizing strategy as me, not organized at all. Photographs and newspaper clippings covered the walls and books were spread on the bed.

"So what do you have?" I blushed for thinking that he was just fooling around.

"The time orb. Old English origins, not mentioned in any primary sources, or secondary for that matter. No one in town has even heard of it, except for some old lady…"

"Cerys," I breathed.

"Mm-hm. And that's all I have," Matthew concluded.

I didn't know how to respond. Matthew had done his job and got information, but I couldn't use any of it. At least I knew that we could ask the whole town and still not find out anything. _Great… _I thought.

"We still need more. Hey, we can have Matthew be our inside man and see if he can get anything out of Layton," Clive volunteered. I knew he just wanted to get rid of Matthew.

"No, it's probably best that we keep him with us…" I could literally see the disappointment in Clive's eyes.

"I'm actually fine with the idea. I've heard a lot about the famed professor through Katarina. It might be the perfect chance to meet him in person," I was surprised that he would go along with the idea. I was a bit hesitant; since I was pretty sure Matthew had never done this before. What if he let something slip on accident? I didn't really have any other ideas.

"Okay. Just don't say anything that you shouldn't know about," Matthew left so quickly it almost made me suspicious.

"Now what?" I asked Clive since it was his idea to send Matthew away.

"I have an idea," Clive grinned.


	8. Chapter 8: The Thief's Den

**A/N The longer I work on this story, the longer it takes me to write it all out… Thank you to all the people who have read this. It means a lot to me. I hope to write more stories about Katarina after this. (By the way, that isn't actually me, but I have a feeling she is going to be me in 10 years.) **

Chapter 8: The Thief's Den

"Clive, I swear. If you don't tell me where we're going, I'm going to-"I threatened. Clive had his hands over my eyes, so I couldn't see. We'd been walking for some time, and Belus Springs wasn't very big. I was sure we had been walking in circles.

"Fine! We're here anyway," Clive lifted his hands away. We were standing in front of… a bistro?

"C-Clive? This r-really isn't the time for-"I stuttered.

"You thought that? Oh, no… look at this picture," Clive handed me a photograph embarrassedly.

The picture was of an alleyway and a shadowy figure entering a building. It was impossible to make out any features on the figure, except a long trench coat and a silvery object sticking out. This was a picture of the thief, probably taken from an ATM security camera, not that I'd seen any ATMs around here.

"Why didn't you tell Matthew this before you took it?" Clive didn't answer me.

"The alley way is just beyond here, but since you had to spoil the surprise, I stopped here instead."

"Genius…" I muttered

"What? I couldn't hear you," I glared at Clive.

I looked around to make sure no one was following us. I didn't see anyone, but when I glanced at the bistro, I saw a rather tall top hat. Why did the professor show up at the most inconvenient times? We almost ran into each other twice and maybe a few more times when Clive had his hands over my eyes. I was starting to hate that hat…

"Professor!" I whispered as loud as I could.

Clive and I ducked behind a short brick wall. Luke and Emmy were probably too busy eating to notice, but the professor had was smart enough to know that walls don't talk when I elbowed Clive, telling him to be quiet.

"Why can't Matthew make some sort of distraction? I thought he was supposed to be with the professor."

I quickly peeked over the wall. No Matthew. Of course, Flora was looking in our direction at that moment.

"Because he isn't with the professor." I whispered.

"Hmm… How loud can you scream?"

"Clive, I am not screaming."

"Fine," Clive cleared his throat.

"POLICE!"

Sure enough, the professor turned around, giving us a chance to slip away. I couldn't help but laugh as Inspector Chelmey searched for the person in peril that didn't exist.

"That was really close," Clive breathed once we were out of earshot. Out of breath, I only nodded.

I stared down the alley we ran into. It was the same one as in the picture, which meant that the thief's lair couldn't be too far. I ran, taking Clive with me.

"This is it."

"No turning back."

"What's the worst thing that could happen?" Clive grinned. I decided not to worry him with the long list of worst case scenarios I was thinking of.

It was dimly lit. Not exactly filthy, but the kind of messy my office is. The first thing I noticed was a tall boy with brown hair standing in the midst of it all

"So you found it too?" I don't know how he knew we were in here. Clive always seemed to open doors loudly, as I had figured out from the past few days.

"Why aren't you with the professor? We could have used you back there."

"I see you did just fine without me," Matthew replied, still avoiding my question. I noticed that he glanced at Clive when he said that.

"Did you find anything out?"

"A few things. I let you investigate alone. I'm going back to the hotel." Matthew slipped out the door.

"He couldn't have been anymore vague, could he?" Clive snorted. I had a feeling that he and Matthew would be butting heads through this whole case. I didn't know why Clive didn't get along with him. He was nice enough, if not a little strange.

"At least he got something for us," I offered, even though I really doubted it. He was usually a bit distant, but this was… different.

I searched the room. There was nothing on the walls, but you could see the remnants of papers that were torn off. The floors didn't have anything on them, but the squeaky floorboards made me slightly suspicious. Clive seemed to be studying the ceiling, but I was certain that he was just staring off into space.

"I'm going to step outside," Clive said, but he probably only wanted to doze off where I couldn't wake him up.

I looked on the ground some more. I noticed a few papers, which turned out to be a couple of blurry photos. I shrugged and stuffed them into my pocket. I could have sworn in the photograph, you could see some papers from the inside. _Anything is good, I guess._

I heard a loud noise coming from outside. _Great, _I thought, _Clive and Matthew are fighting. _

I walked outside to see a huge man wrestling with Clive. I was smart enough to know that it probably wasn't a friendly fight.

"Katarina, run!" Clive yelled as the man put a baseball mitt-sized hand over his mouth.

I gasped and turned to run, but another man blocks my way. _Now I really wish I had taken up Emmy's offer to teach me how to fight, _I thought miserably

"You're not going anywhere," He said gruffly. The next thing I knew, I was seeing stars.

**A/N: Cliffhanger, I know. Hopefully I can get the next chapter up soon. The story is still far from over though. Please review.**


	9. Chapter 9: Reflections

Chapter 9: Reflections

**A/N: Have… cold… typing… hard… please… review…**

I woke up with a burning sensation in my head and I felt cramped. _Oh no, I fell asleep at my desk, _was the first thing that came to mind.

No, that wasn't it. I could feel something warm next to me. I decided to stop guessing and just open my eyes. I wasn't satisfied with what I saw.

"I am in the trunk of a car." I groaned. I was slowly starting to remember what happened. _Clive and I were investigating the building in the photograph, then there were two huge scary men, and now I'm in the trunk of a car, slowly suffocating. _

"You aren't alone," I heard Clive say. I thought he was talking about himself, but I saw two other people I didn't recognize.

"Why on earth did I let you talk me into this?" I groaned. I was pretty sure the professor didn't have this happen on any of his adventures. Now I knew how Flora felt.

"Frankly, I don't know. Now how are we going to get out of here?"

"Well, Matthew will eventually notice we're missing and-"

"Scratch that. I saw Matthew get into the car before… you know."

"Hmm… I read a book about this. I might be able to figure something out," I searched my brain for an idea.

"You seriously read a book about escaping from a car trunk?" I didn't answer Clive.

_Kick the headlight out, _I thought. It was crazy, since I'd never been in top physical condition, but I was a little desperate.

"Whatever you do, hurry."

"Why? Are you claustrophic?"

"That too."

I sighed. Pressure had never been my friend. If Clive thought he was helping, he was dead wrong.

I summoned up all my strength and kicked the part where I thought the headlight was. I must have been right, because I heard a terribly loud crunching noise. I took a look out of the enormous hole I had just made in the car, but honestly didn't care about the hole. All I saw was a really big car right behind us, so there was no chance of opening the trunk and escaping.

"So?"

"Maybe once the car stops we can get out, but until then we're stuck."

Clive groaned. I didn't know why he was the one complaining. He was the one that got us into this mess.

I felt the other two people stirring. I had never seen them before. I wondered why they were here.

"WH-where am I?" The girl moaned. Her companion tried to sit up, bumping his head on the roof.

"Nowhere good," Clive replied. I wanted to reassure her, but Clive had it pretty much summed up.

"Who are you talking to?" The boy mumbled.

"I'm Clive Dove."

"The one who almost destroyed London?"

"That's me," Clive blushed.

"And you?" I realized the boy was pointing at me.

"I'm the person who turned a life sentence into six months."

o-O-o

After a while, the car had stopped. The thought that we would have never lasted long enough if I hadn't kicked out the headlight and made a huge hole crossed my mind. I guess whoever did this didn't really care if we were alive or not. That really made me scared.

I heard a cold voice talking to Matthew. I hoped he was okay. He was… softer. I didn't know he would handle the pressure. Surprisingly, no one came for us, not that I minded. I looked outside. No one was there. Perfect.

"Clive, do you see anything that could possibly be used as a crowbar?"

"Yeah," Clive handed me a metal pipe. "I'm going to have to borrow that book of yours."

"You're free to do so. At least once this mess that _you _got us into is over," I tried to hide the snarkiness I felt like saying.

I took the pipe and shoved it in between the door. Thankfully, it opened fairly easy. Unfortunately, there was a very angry goon who must have fallen asleep while leaning on it.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

I guess I must've lost it then. Not knowing what I was doing, I punched the guard in the eye. He was surprised, and so was Clive. Frankly, so was I.

"You little-"The goon threw a punch at me, but I ducked and knocked him over. He hit the trunk door with a sickening thud.

"Wow… When did you learn how to do _that_?" Clive asked.

"I've picked up a few things…" I answered modestly, rubbing my sore hand.

The girl and boy (revealing them to be named Gina and Tomi) stepped out of the car.

"Okay. I have a plan. You three will go wait for me in the woods we passed on the way here and I'll go in and look for Matthew. If I'm not back in ten minutes… run as fast as you can."

"But Katarina-"Clive started, but I silenced him.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry," I tried to smile, but it looked awfully forced.

It took a while, but they finally left. I stared at my reflection in the car. I looked the same, but there was something different almost.

I shrugged it off and walked into what I knew was going to be a whole lot of danger.


	10. Chapter 10: Caught

Chapter 10: Caught

I wasn't sure I liked this whole sneaking around thing. It reminded me of the spy novel I had just read. It felt… wrong.

I turned the corner, narrowly avoiding a group of guards. I wondered why I even volunteered to do such a dangerous thing like this without any help. It was a foolish thing to do, but me, maybe the most sensible person of the Layton household besides Layton, did it.

I could hear Matthew talking down the hall. There was the same voice from earlier too. I ducked behind the banister and watched a couple of goons lead Matthew into another room. He seemed oddly calm.

I saw three people leave the room, but four had gone in. _Perfect. I can go in, get Matthew, and sneak away, hopefully unnoticed. _Even in my head it sounded silly and a little too chance-y.

I sighed and opened the door to the room where Matthew was. I must have caught him by surprise because I saw him flinch.

"K-Katarina? Wha-what are you doing here?"

"Getting you out of here. We need to hurry."

"This is too dangerous. You need to get out of here as fast as you can!"

I snorted. "You're talking to the person who just knocked down someone twice her size without throwing a single punch in her life. I think I can handle myself just fine."

"You don't understand! These people are _really _dangerous."

"That's why I need to get you out of here. Now stop arguing and come on!"

Matthew hesitated, but eventually followed me out. In my concentration, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. As I turned the corner, we both ran into a group of guards and a man in a trench coat, like the one in the picture.

"_What do we have here?"_

o-O-o

_Trapped, trapped, _I kept thinking. The dismal room I was in, which reminded me of a police interrogation room, wasn't improving my mood anymore.

"How could I be so stupid?" I mumbled. The guards had probably just found Clive and the others, thanks to me. I hadn't said anything, but I was proof that the rest of them escaped.

_Stupid, stupid, how could I be even more stupid…?_

A man that reminded me of a gorilla poked his head in.

"The boss wants to see you."

The room I was put in wasn't any better than the one I was in. In fact, it was made even worse by the fact that Clive, Gina and Tomi were in there too, staring at me as I walked in.

"Sit."

I reluctantly took a seat next to Clive. He didn't seem angry with me, but I couldn't tell what he was really thinking.

"So you are looking for the time orb?" I didn't answer him.

"I have it."

"Kind of suspected it." I mumbled sarcastically. I expected the man to kill me right then and there, but he just chuckled, a sound as equally frightening as the professor yelling at us.

"You have a sense of humor. Good. I advise you to stop chasing after the impossible." He turned to me when he said that.

"Oh yeah? What's stopping us?" I was wondering where I got the guts to say all of that.

"I think you know."

A guard stepped up, pointing a gun at my waist.

"I see," I gulped. Thankfully, the guard put his gun away.

"I will let you go, but you must leave this matter alone. As for me, there is a Rembrandt in Siberia that has caught my eye." The man waved his hand to dismiss us.

As we walked out, Clive turned to me.

"What just happened in there?"

I thought about how to answer. "I had a gun pointed at me?"

"No, not that. Since when did you have an attitude like that?"

"It's not an attitude. It's pure stubbornness." I shrugged. "I don't like people who threaten me with guns."

**A/N: Short, yes I know. I was rushing to get this up. Review, please.**


	11. Chapter 11: Back at the beginning

Chapter 11: Back at the Beginning

"Now what?" Clive asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We go our separate ways and forget this ever happened," Tomi mumbled.

"You are such a pessimist!" Gina poked her friend.

"Well, at the moment, that's probably the most sensible thing to do…" Matthew answered.

"And let that man become rich off of stealing the most valuable pieces of art in the world? I don't think so."

"Well, then what?" All eyes were on me.

"We can steal it back,"

"How exactly are we going to do that? You aren't a thief and neither are the rest of us," Matthew reasoned.

"Clive, you must know some good thieves from prison."

"If they're in prison, they can't be very good."

"Point taken. What about Descole and Don Paolo? They're… okay."

"If you can find them."

"Well, I'm getting out of this before it gets me killed. I couldn't do that to my parents. What about yours, Clive?" Tomi looked at Clive expectantly.

"They're… dead."

"Yes, I read about that. What about you, Katarina?"

I blushed. "I'm not any of my parents' concern."

"Why? Are they dead too?"

"Dead? No. More like they disowned me," I smiled weakly. "I was raised by my grandfather."

"Tomi! Why are you being so cruel? They obviously don't want to talk about their parents," Gina elbowed her friend.

"Sorry!"

I sighed. If we couldn't focus, we would never be able to get the orb back. I don't think Descole even knew me except from poker nights at the professor's flat. Don Paolo still owed me a favor…

"I'll contact Don Paolo and Descole for some tips, but after that we're on our own."

We sat there in front of the inn for some time. I was so lost in thought that I didn't see Inspector Chelmey making his way to us. I was sure he'd already seen us.

"Turn around Clive and start walking."

He did so, but I felt a strong grip on my arm. I turned to see a very surprised Inspector Chelmey.

"What are you doing here Katarina? Did Layton bring you with him?" The inspector asked.

"Um… no. He… er… doesn't know we're here. Please don't tell him!" I pleaded.

The inspector frowned like he was assessing a master criminal. "I won't tell the professor _yet_, but eventually he's going to figure it all out on his own."

The inspector was probably right, but I could try, couldn't I?

"I'm going to find Barton. Stay out of trouble. Especially you, Dove."


	12. Chapter 12: Unusual Connections

Chapter 12: Unusual Connections

"Yeah. Really? Yes, I won't tell Layton that you're in town. Just, no Ferris wheels or flying death machines. Thanks. Bye," I hung up the pay phone.

"What'd he say?"

"He's actually in town, watching the professor. He said he'd drop by later."

"Descole was busy, but has a few ideas."

"You two seriously know criminals?" Tomi butted in.

"Clive technically _is _a criminal," I pointed out.

"Ex-convict, actually," Clive corrected.

"Great. Just great! I'm harboring a wanted fugitive!" Tomi groaned as Gina glared at him.

"I'm not _wanted._"

"That might be so, but that inspector guy didn't trust you. Why should I?" I couldn't help but laugh at this.

Clive sighed. I could already tell what he was thinking. _Why does he have to be so stubborn?_

"Think of it this way. If I were a _real _criminal, I wouldn't be doing this right now. I wouldn't even bother bringing Katarina into my mess."

"Sometimes I wish you were a real criminal."

"Ha ha, Katarina. You probably would've found your way on this anyway."

"Haven't you heard? I don't do cases with the professor anymore."

"What happened while I was in prison?"

"There might have been a little incident in which I nearly got myself killed along with the professor and Luke. We both decided that if I did any cases I'd do it on my own."

"You? Almost get yourself killed?"

"Don't act so surprised."

"When?"

"Around the time I stopped visiting you in prison."

"So that didn't have anything to do with me?"

"No, it didn't."

"Well, I'm relieved. At least I know that you've at least made the professor mad once," Clive said smugly.

I frowned but realized that someone was standing in the doorway.

"I see you haven't changed a bit, Katarina." The mustachioed man grinned deviously.

**So short! Please review.**


	13. Chapter 13: Family?

Chapter 13: Family?

"Well, that's certainly a problem," Don Paolo commented gruffly.

"Yes… it is. That's why we called you."

"And it's my pleasure to help out family. I only have one question. Is Layton next door?" Don Paolo stared at the wall. Sure enough, you could hear a faint "No puzzle can stand up to Layton's apprentice!"

I could see that Clive was surprised. It took me a while to figure out why, but I realized I'd never told him my little secret.

"Yes, Clive. I'm biologically related to Don Paolo. Kind of."

"Kind of?"

"Technically, he's my second cousin, once or twice removed."

"What?"

**A/N: Short but funny, I hope. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Reviews, reviews. I love 'em.**


	14. Chapter 14: Secrets and Answers

Chapter 14: Secrets and Answers

"How can you be related to, to him? You don't even look alike!"

"_He _is right here." Don Paolo grumbled.

I sighed. "Technically, he's my father's cousin, so we probably wouldn't look alike anyway. Why are you so angry?"

"I'm mad because you didn't tell me."

"Well, in my defense, it didn't seem important enough to mention. I don't think my obscure relatives are that important."

"Obscure?" Don Paolo echoed.

"It doesn't matter if it's important! Why are you keeping secrets?"

"Who are you to tell me about secrets?"

"Guys! Eyes on the prize, please," Gina interrupted.

I shot a death glare at Clive to tell him that the conversation was far from over.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but we're going to steal a stupid glass ball from that _fortress_, all while not getting killed, and then not even get paid for it. When did I agree to this?" Tomi said, as pessimistically as always.

"Not impossible, just hard. You could get your face in the newspaper. Assuming you don't get killed," Clive added.

"Katarina?" Matthew was sitting in the corner of the room.

I thought for a moment. "Cerys said that she couldn't make the orb work because she needed something else, maybe a key. Whatever it is, I'm sure this person doesn't have it. If we can find it, I'll bet that he'll be there too."

Everyone stared at me in amazement.

"That… makes sense. But how will we know where it is?"

"Easy. We ask the person who owns it."

o-0-o

Thankfully Clive hadn't thrown away the map to Cerys's house, because I would've forgotten already. I knocked on the door, but it swung open on its own.

"Creepy…" Matthew commented.

"Not helping." I looked inside. The house was completely trashed and deserted.

"Ok. Matthew and Tomi, look upstairs."

"What if we find a dead body?"

"Get rid of any evidence," I was joking but they seemed to think I was serious.

I sent Don Paolo and Gina to the kitchen, which left Clive and I alone in the parlor.

"You could have told me."

I groaned and turned to look at Clive. "Like I said. Unimportant. Do you just not like the idea of me having secrets?"

"No, but-"

"Exactly. Let's just forget about this," I said quietly, brushing my fingers over the wall.

I noticed that one of the paintings was crooked. I quickly pulled it off, revealing an empty gap in the wall.

"Someone was here, and they took something with them. I'll bet it was the key," I deduced.

"It wasn't Cerys. Maybe it was her granddaughter?"

"Maybe. It would explain why Cerys didn't know about it."

I sighed and looked inside the gap for clues. I heard someone gasp.

"What- what are you doing here?" I saw Cerys's granddaughter standing at the entryway of the parlor.

"Oh! Can we-"I was cut off by her running away.

"Come on!" I raced after her.

o-0-o

I was never great with sports or running, despite having way too long legs, so she was ahead by a lot. Finally, we cornered her.

"Why were you running?" I gasped, out of breath.

"I-I can't."

"Can't what?"

"I can't let this go into the wrong hands," She pulled out a small piece of metal with all sorts of different indentations on it.

"Don't worry. We aren't the wrong hands."

"I… I don't believe you."

**A/N: I know, not a very good place to end a chapter, but I needed to stop somewhere. Review please. **


	15. Chapter 15: The Key

Chapter 15: The Key

"Why not?" Clive huffed.

"One of you is not who they say they are."

I sighed. "Well yeah. Don Paolo tends to do that a lot."

The young woman chuckled slightly. I figured that that wasn't who she was talking about.

"I need to hide this before anyone finds it."

"That's probably wise, but could we borrow it? It will help us get the orb back," I tried to persuade.

"If you can do it, you may. But know this. If that key goes missing, and it probably will, I'll be blaming you."

"I can handle that."

"I'm sure you can, but that orb is a powerful object. If you fail… the results would be disastrous."

"Real pep talk." I heard Clive mumble.

"Here," She stuck the piece of metal into my hand. "Don't make me question my judgment."

With that, she disappeared.

"Now what?"

I smiled and put the key in my pocket.

"I have an idea."

o-0-o

"Are you sure this is the best place? What if we fall in the river?" Tomi complained _again_.

"Hope you can swim. Focus please. We need to know when they are coming." I hissed into the walkie- talkie.

The plan was set. Don Paolo was at the fortress place, disguised as a guard, leaving a tip for where the key was, they come, Tomi, Matthew and Gina would alert us, and Clive and I would come out and, I don't know, arrest them and get the orb. I set it up by a river near the fortress, so it would be easy to see, not as much escape. The only thing that worried me was that there was a huge waterfall next to where the key was.

"Incoming! Incoming!" Matthew yelled into the walkie- talkie.

"Stop yelling!"

Clive and I watched as the man walked over to where I placed the key. He chuckled and picked up the key, looking it over. I jumped out from our hiding place, pointing a metal pipe that I'd turned into a faux sword. Hopefully he would buy the bluff.

The man stifled a laugh and pulled out a gun in one foul swoop. Clive and I put our hands up, backing away.

"Looks like I haven't got the message quite through your head, Katarina. Guess I'll have to do it again."

I could hear the ground under us beginning to make way. To make things worse, we were close to the edge of the waterfall. I tried to sneak around, but the man continued to point his gun at us.

The ground gave way, leaving Clive and I dangling off the edge of the waterfall.

"Sorry, but I can't leave any loose ends." The man pushed us off.

And then we fell over the waterfall.


	16. Chapter 16: Over the Waterfall

Chapter 16: Over the Waterfall

If you think falling over a waterfall sounds like a good idea, I will tell you know that it is NOT a good idea.

Somehow, we'd managed not to kill ourselves on the rocks on the bottom, but there were still really strong rapids and the river kept on going. We managed not to sink, luckily.

Water pounded at me as we were propelled through. At some point I lost consciousness, but I didn't sink. Something was holding me up.

Sooner or later, we washed up on the riverbed. I was still unconscious when Don Paolo and the others found us and brought us back to the inn.

"I know this isn't the best time, but I told you so."

I was ready to slap Tomi in the face for that one.

"It wasn't _our _fault. The guy had a _gun_."

"And I have more fake beards than a grown man probably needs. The bottom line is, you failed, and we are going to have to get the orb _and _the key back," Don Paolo intervened.

"Plans? Anyone?"

I remembered what Cerys's granddaughter had said about one of them not being who they said they were. Looking around at all the friendly faces, except Don Paolo's, surrounding me, I had a hard time believing one of them was a traitor. Perfect time for some good old Layton intuition.

"We need Layton's help."

"No," Don Paolo and Clive said at the same time.

"C'mon. Face it, Clive. We need him."

"No. Absolutely not. You can do it on your own. You've read enough books to do just as well."

I glared at Clive. _I guess we can put it off a while longer, but sooner or later he's going to have to face the facts, _I thought.

"Fine. But we'll have to make a visit to our favorite fortress."

"Deal."


	17. Chapter 17: Caught again

Chapter 17: Getting caught… again

"Are you certain?"

"Positively."

Clive snorted and watched as the professor walked out of the shop. I had to admit, it was kind of funny how he hadn't caught on to the grand scheme of things yet, considering whenever we watched murder mystery shows on TV he always blurted out the killer before anyone had time to figure it out.

"Alright, they're gone."

I sat up. "Good. At least we can plan while they're away."

"What good is planning if this guy already has us all figured out?"

"He thinks we're dead. Why would he still be keeping tabs on us?" I reasoned. Sometimes Clive seemed to lack basic logic.

He frowned. "Well, that will make it easier." He froze.

I felt someone prod me on the shoulder. I looked up to see the professor glaring at us.

"P-professor?"

The professor is usually a very composed gentleman. He almost never gets mad, not even when Luke accidently broke his favorite teacup. Well, I had the unfortunate ability to do it very well.

"Katarina, Clive, what are you two doing here after I specifically told you _not _to come on this case?" Layton growled. It was obvious he was trying really hard not to yell at us.

"Actually, you only told Clive, so-"I was interrupted.

"I did tell you that you could only take cases that I am not on. Clive, you should know better to bring her into this." Clive shrunk back into the wall.

"But professor! We've learned a lot about this case, maybe even more than you have."

"Sorry, but it's simply too dangerous."

I scoffed. "I've almost died twice in the last three days. I think I realize that."

"What?" Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

"You two are going home right now. You have already foolishly risked your life once, and it will NOT be happening again." Layton said firmly. He gestured to the inn were my car was still parked.

o-0-o

"I can't believe you guys have to leave!" Gina exclaimed.

"We aren't actually leaving. The professor just needs to think we are." I whispered, since the professor was still next door. "Besides, I think I have this mystery just about figured out. All I need is to find that man when he's alone."

"But he's been two steps ahead of you this whole time!" Matthew spoke up.

"Since when has that stopped Katarina?" Clive scoffed.

"It's a good thing I've been practicing." I chuckled.

"Practicing what?"

"The Layton point, of course!" I winked playfully.

**A/N: Sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I've been in a sort of creative slump lately, because I'm **_**supposed**_** to be working on my real story. Oh well.**

**I plan to spend a few weeks on Character Development, so updates might be a bit slow.**


	18. Chapter 18: A Startling Revelation

Chapter 18: A Startling revelation

"I know they're up to something. I thought that killing the girl and the boy would finish them, but they are persistent." I was listening to the man. He was in the foyer of the gallery, talking to one of his thugs.

He walked coolly and confidently on the marble floors. I couldn't help but wonder if he knew about us.

He glanced at the humongous Monet hanging in the center. Not a real one though, Don Paolo has a wonderful talent for forging things.

"Come on out already!" He called out, his voice echoed through the near empty gallery.

On cue, Tomi, Gina and Matthew stepped out of the shadows.

"I suppose you're here for the orb. Mir!" The man called to one of his guards. He was holding a silvery white orb.

"Exactly. So hand it over." I would have never expected Gina to sound so intimidating, her being an eternal optimist and all.

"Your leaders are dead. Face it, you simply have no chance." He snarled.

I took this as my cue. "Dead? I think that's a bit of stretch."

The man chuckled to himself. "Stubborn girl. You just won't die, will you?"

"Well, I try not to."

"Oh well. At least the Dove boy is out of the way. Now I can dispose of the rest of you." I froze. Clive wouldn't have enough time! He was waiting for a chance to catch the man from behind.

I saw Clive sneaking up behind the man with a metal pipe. He was about to swing until-

"Nice try boy," The man caught Clive's wrist and threw him into the wall. What horrified me was that Clive wasn't moving.

"I see you still haven't learned. I guess you can join your boyfriend then." I would have grimaced at the boyfriend remark, except he lunged for my wrist. He tossed me back so easily; you would've thought I didn't weigh more than a doll.

Pain shot through my body. We had failed yet again. Except for this time I brought a back-up plan. If only I'd be able to last long enough to see it.

"Mir, the orb. I think they deserve to see it one last time." The man gestured to his guard.

Mir didn't react. Instead he… pulled his face off?

Dropping his disguise, Don Paolo tossed the orb to Tomi. The man simply watched in shock.

"I figured the great Don Paolo would be helping here. This handiwork is so sloppy, the plans were poorly executed." I would have scowled at the last remark.

"Great? That's more like it." Don Paolo beamed. "Wait- what?"

"Matthew? Retrieve the orb for me." To everyone's shock, Matthew obeyed.

"M-Matthew?" I managed.

"Here you go, Unko." Matthew tossed the orb to the man.

"U-unko?" I groaned. Matthew would be the last one I would expect.

Now it was starting to make sense. Matthew was there before I even knew about the case. I hadn't even known about the Time Orb when I called him, yet that was what he had research on. I felt so stupid for not knowing that already.

"Sorry Katarina, but family comes first."

"Now I will let your friends live, since it's obvious that you will keep trying unless I end your lives now. You others have twenty seconds to leave before I put a bullet in this girl's brain." I felt a gun being pointed at my head.

I gathered up all my strength and swept my leg across the floor, tripping the man. The gun dropped and I pushed it out of reach.

Before I knew it, the professor, Luke, Emmy, Flora, Inspector Chelmey and a couple dozen Scotland Yard officers burst in the door. I tried to get up, but the pain got to me. I promptly fainted.

**A/N: So there is the climax. There are only a few chapters left, so stay tuned. Please review. This was really hard to write.**


	19. Chapter 19: An interview

Chapter 19: An interview

_An interview conducted about the case._

Reporter: So you are friends with the great Professor Layton?

Katarina: You make him seem like he's a god. But yes, he's a friend.

Reporter: I heard that you were working with the psychopath Clive Dove on this case. What was that like?

Katarina: Psychopath? I don't think so. He was annoying sure, but otherwise it was okay.

Reporter: Where were you during the rampage of his mobile fortress?

Katarina: *sighs* I was on a roof.

Reporter: Roof?

Katarina: Or the hospital.

Reporter: Hospital? Were you injured?

Katarina: No. Actually, my grandfather called me because all the newsflashes were cancelling his favorite show. I had to go over and entertain him.

Reporter: Uh… okay! Do you think Clive is handsome?

Katarina: *blushes* Um… why is that question in here?

Reporter: No reason!

Katarina: Um… well... can't I just pass this question?

Reporter: Fine. How did it feel to put that man in prison?

Katarina: I've done it before so… triumphant I guess. He did nearly kill me three times.

Reporter: I think that's all.


	20. Epilogue

Epilogue

"Can someone please explain to me what happened?" Clive asked.

I looked over my newspaper at him and smiled. We were at the professor's favorite café. I figured they purposely sat at a separate table.

"In short, Matthew was the traitor, the orb wasn't actually real, and I had a gun pointed at me, again."

"All while I was out. Well, I'm glad you are okay," Clive sipped at his tea.

"Hmm… I'm just mad that I hadn't figured out about Matthew earlier." I flipped the page.

"You know, we make a pretty good team." Clive leaned in closer.

"And you're saying this why?"

"Maybe we should become private investigators. Just imagine: Dove and West, best minds in London."

I raised my eyebrow. "I think you mean West and Dove."

"Whatever floats your boat. Anyway, what happened to Gina and Tomi?"

"You didn't expect them to stick around, did you? They are my new… er… informants."

"That's great. Now what?" I smiled in return. We'd asked that so often, always with an answer, but this time, I didn't have one.

"Now we wait."

**A/N: It's over! But don't worry, there is going to be a sequel. I'll try to get started as soon as I can. PLZ REVIEW!**


	21. Chapter 21

Long time, no see. I'm sorry to say that this is not good news.

I have not updated in a very long time. School, writer's block and pure laziness have gotten in the way. Also, I've ben trying to improve my writing style and work on my original fiction. I now look back at my past work and realize how childish and bland it is. That is why I've decided to delete this account and start a new one. I want to have a fresh start at writing and just start anew. If anyone is curious to know what it is, you can contact me through private messaging. Also, I keep a regular blog on tumblr if you want to check it out, as well as a critique blog.

Any fanfictions that I have finished and you want to repost, I give you my permission. (Not that you would want to. They suck really bad.)

Farewell and perhaps we shall meet again. I will be doing the same with my deviantART and Quotev accounts, as well as a few stories on my Fictionpress account. I have nothing against you lovely people, but I'd rather not be held back by my past mistakes. I feel like both my writing and myself have matured and these accounts are kind of like those old photos you want to burn.

PM me if you want the URLs to my new accounts or my other still existing accounts.

Thank you,

~Nanai


	22. i'm back

Hi guys, I'd just like to announce that I am back and I am rewriting/finishing ALL of my works in my newer, prettier style. This may deter me from putting out too much new content, but I hope you enjoy how much these stories won't suck as badly.

As for OCs, I probably won't be using them much, but if any of you want me to keep writing them, I will.

Also, if you want to find my original works, I've started a writing blog here: .com

Happy writing everyone and I hope I can put out more goodies soon!


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